tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45813493065312882232024-02-20T10:15:20.873-08:00Journal: The Chiru of High TibetNotes and Musings about the origins of this book, about endangered species, about non-fiction and fiction for young readers, about writing, and reading.Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-71499575835892813312014-06-23T07:23:00.003-07:002014-06-23T07:23:45.064-07:00Come with me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's not that I've forgotten about this conversation, it's that I wasn't sure what to do with it. I started this blog when my mind was full of the Tibetan plains and chiru and endangered species.<br />
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I'm still interested in endangered species and those who work to save such creatures, but I'm also interested in the food revolution that seems to be taking place in our country, and how it shows up in urban farms and schoolyard gardens.<br />
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And I'm interested in issues about writing and the writing life. So it has seemed that a blog called "Chiru Journal" might be misleading to you, and it's feeling limiting to me. I have been meeting some wonderful non-fiction writers in the past year and hope to share some interviews with them. I also want to have some conversations about writing fiction, building a world that calls to readers. And I hope to think about how to nourish the writer in us when we are not writing.<br />
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I hope you'll jump on over <a href="http://jacquelinebriggsmartin.blogspot.com/">Writing Around</a>, my new blog and join me there for a stop on "My Writing Process" Blog Tour. Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-61269081298893303192013-11-08T15:28:00.000-08:002013-11-08T15:30:46.083-08:00Is there a book...<br />
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Last Sunday's New York Times "By the Book" column featured and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/books/review/sherman-alexie-by-the-book.html?hpw&rref=books&_r=0">interview with Sherman Alexie</a>.<br />
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The answer that most interests me today is the one to the following question: <i><b>What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?</b></i> </div>
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“The Basketball Diaries,” by Jim Carroll. My dad gave it to me for my
15th birthday. He thought it was only about basketball. But it’s a book
about heroin addiction, Catholic guilt, teenage sex, soul sickness and
basketball. This book, above all others, is the reason I write. </i></div>
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The comment that struck me was, "This book, above all others, is the reason I write." Made me wonder, made me form a question for myself is there a book that is the reason that I write?<br />
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And I think, not one book, but a stack of books, the stack that I read with Sarah and Justin almost every day. We did not have a huge stack, but we looked forward every day to our time with Curious George, Bartholomew Cubbins, The Cow Who Fell in the Canal, or Pierre, who only would say I don't care. Those times made me want to write a story that could be part of someone's good times.<br />
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There are other books that keep me writing--the classic <i>Miss Rumphius</i>, by Barbara Cooney always makes me want to write about a character who is so real that she/he will travel with readers for their entire lives. A newer book<i> My Father's Village</i> by Claire Nivola makes me want to look more closely at my own life for the real stories that are there. And <i>No Crystal Stair</i> by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson--at the top of my to-read list--I expect will reminds me that I can tell those life stories however they demand to be told, as history or as a documentary novel.<br />
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In my life right now there might be a story about cleaning out the cupboard under the sink. I'm always reminded of Little Meery in Paul Bunyan. Little Meery was consigned to the cupboard under the sink. Who else might live in such a place? Or there might be a story in the two boys who stopped by our house with their own leaf rakes last night, hoping to earn some cash raking our leaves. They did. I wonder what they did with it. Or maybe a story in the piles of clothes that seem to have taken themselves to our bedroom and just dropped.<br />
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Finding the possibilities is easy. Finding the persistence to develop the possibilities is the continuing challenge for this writer. But if the story is strong enough, demanding enough, it brings its own insistence that it be told, and that is the next thing to persistence.<br />
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And finally a question: what are the books that inspired you? To write? To change? To be who you are?<br />
<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-36984581030362188882013-10-21T11:01:00.000-07:002013-10-21T11:01:07.216-07:00Reading around...and writing<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I should be writing but--confession time-- instead decided to read <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/21/books/donna-tartt-talks-a-bit-about-the-goldfinch.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp">this article</a> on Donna Tartt in today's NY Times. It is about a writer, and writing, after all. The article is prompted by the release of</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> her new book, "The Goldfinch," and touches on her early life. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Dickensian sweep of “The Goldfinch” has its roots in Ms. Tartt’s
childhood in Grenada, Miss., where she began writing and drawing her own
books when she was 5 years old. Taking copies of National Geographic,
she would cut out pictures of a zebra or a child, and write a story
about the picture. “I wrote books in this way, around images,” Ms. Tartt
said, something that didn’t occur to her until “The Goldfinch” — a book
that surrounds an image of a luminous yellow-tinged bird — was
complete. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">So it was worth it--for the reminder that we all have the same tools, the same prompts--pictures from magazines, objects. And Donna Tartt didn't mention them but there are the conversations we overhear, the names that capture us. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here's another piece from the interview.</span> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ms. Tartt is a lifelong keeper of notebooks, and some of the earliest
scenes in “The Goldfinch” were taken from notes dated 1993. “I was
writing for a while not knowing what I was writing,” she said. “That’s
the way it’s been with all my books. Things will come to you and you’re
not going to know exactly how they fit in. You have to trust in the way
they all fit together, that your subconscious knows what you’re doing.”
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Trust, that's what's needed, especially at the beginning of a work, when the story seems to show up in bits that are not necessarily connected to each other. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Emboldened with trust--and determination, I am now going back to work. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span> </span></span><br />
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Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-51730924961970109162013-10-14T10:39:00.002-07:002013-10-14T10:40:29.690-07:00Book Parties!<br />
A new book is always exciting. Opening the box for the first time and seeing all those hours of researching, writing and revising fitted between colorful covers makes a holiday. Hearing readers say they like the story is the best kind of music. And book parties are the best kinds of parties.<br />
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This last weekend was a banner weekend--with two book parties for <i>Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Bo Books, Cedar Rapids</td></tr>
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Saturday story hour at <a href="http://www.newbobooks.com/">New Bo Books</a> in Cedar Rapids was a great chance to visit with long-time friends and to meet new friends of all ages. Kids could connect Will Allen's farm with their own vegetable gardens. We made vegetable and flower mobiles. And we did have cake.Thanks, New Bo Books!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">veggies from Laura's farm</td></tr>
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Yesterday Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table went to Laura's Krouse's <a href="http://www.abbehills.com/">Abbe Hills Farm</a>.<br />
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Such is the power of Will Allen's vision of good food for all that just sharing his story brings people together with good food, introduces kids to the places where food is grown, and gives them a chance to try that food.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one family learns about Farmer Will</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farmer Laura shares okra</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8OfanMCIBN6jS_6CmW7ValGpwCxvORbrL6AUC6GmTaod1IUwxcAg9AqrfrnpVdgU1lRbGkokZMVheFbPuVqKrDuowHQFTkIbxCvpBfHTpsiZfoTgTJ7fR_jIezdYhOFfqM0YWHYQ3CBP/s1600/DSC04076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8OfanMCIBN6jS_6CmW7ValGpwCxvORbrL6AUC6GmTaod1IUwxcAg9AqrfrnpVdgU1lRbGkokZMVheFbPuVqKrDuowHQFTkIbxCvpBfHTpsiZfoTgTJ7fR_jIezdYhOFfqM0YWHYQ3CBP/s320/DSC04076.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kids come back from the field</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enough said</td></tr>
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And, yes, in addition to the veggies, we did have cake.<br />
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It was a party after all.Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-44591983644557541822013-09-26T13:56:00.000-07:002013-09-26T13:56:32.712-07:00Inspired by Will Allen--Matthew 25 Urban Farm~Cedar Rapids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clint Twedt-Ball and his brother Courtney Ball, co-directors of Matthew 25 farm </td></tr>
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Good ideas grow like plump seeds dropped in good ground. Last weekend I had a chance to see that again.</div>
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I went to an urban farm in Cedar Rapids--<a href="http://www.hub25.org/">Matthew 25</a>. The farm was inspired by Will Allen and has as its goal the same goal as Will Allen's Growing Power Farm-- to provide tasty, healthy food at reasonable prices to people in the area. The co-directors are Clint Twedt-Ball and his brother Courtney.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Play equipment welcomes neighborhood kids</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No fences</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vegetables grow next to train tracks and industrial buildings</td></tr>
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Matthew 25 has plans to send one of its farmers to Will Allen's Growing Power Farm this winter, expand its farm next year, grow more vegetables plant more fruit trees. Courtney Ball has worked with others to set up school yard gardens at two schools in Cedar Rapids. </div>
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At a time when there are people in our country who would cut food stamp benefits to those who need them (see <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/opinion/krugman-free-to-be-hungry.html?_r=0">Paul Krugman </a>on this), thus depriving children--and adults--of needed food, it is uplifting to meet people who are succeeding at helping others to eat better and are strengthening communities with good food.</div>
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<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-5810438335268198972013-09-09T10:49:00.001-07:002013-09-09T10:49:12.772-07:00Announcing: good times<br />
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Writing is such a solitary activity that whenever we have a chance for getting together with writers, readers, and general book-lovers we know it will be a good time.<br />
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Well, I am excited today to announce two such get togethers--to help launch <i>Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table. </i><br />
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<b>10:00 Saturday, October 12 New-Bo Books 1105 3rd St. SE Cedar Rapids, IA 10:00 a.m.</b> <i>Reading and signing</i><br />
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<b>Sunday, October 13 Abbe Hills Farm Abbe Hills Road, Mount Vernon, IA 2:00-4:00 p.m. </b><br />
Reading, signing, and veggie gathering for kids on Laura Krouse's working farm. Refreshments for all.<br />
(for driving directions go to http://www.abbehills.com/contact)<br />
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If you are interested in farming, urban farming, gardening, children's literature, mark your calendar and plan to join us. We had so much fun with the cake for The Chiru of High Tibet that we may have to have cake, too.<br />
Come Saturday and/or Sunday to find out!<br />
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Philip Lee at <a href="http://www.readerstoeaters.com/our-books/">Readers to Eaters</a>, Eric-Shabazz Larkin and I are excited about this early <a href="http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2013/08/28/review-of-the-day-farmer-will-allen-and-the-growing-table-by-jacqueline-briggs-martin/">review</a> of <i>Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table</i>. Come to the parties, hear the story of Will Allen, talk about farming--urban or rural. Celebrate an amazing man--Will Allen!Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-71987612586554990422013-08-30T12:14:00.000-07:002013-08-30T12:14:32.029-07:00Seamus Heaney at the end of August<br />
Seamus Heaney is on my mind today, because he's gone now.<br />
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Of course I had to go to youtube and watch him read some poems; and then remember when he came to Iowa City to do a reading and I took <i>Sweeney Astray</i> for him to sign. By then Sweeney was no longer a new book, out for 13 years (in fact it was the only book available at the bookstore) but Seamus Heaney said, "Ah Sweeney, how good to see Sweeney!" as if I had done him a favor in asking him to sign this book.<br />
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Sweeney Astray is the story of a man cursed in battle, made mad,transformed into a creature that lives in treetops, survives on cress and water, lost to his former life, and alone. It is a haunting piece. One never forgets <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/20/specials/heaney-version.html">Sweeney</a>. But more than that, was that lovely moment of grace at the signing. I felt as if we--Seamus Heaney and me!-- were joint friends of the haunted Sweeney. <br />
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And here's Seamus Heaney reading one of his best-known poems <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x13z211_seamus-heaney-reads-his-poem-digging_news">"Digging."</a><br />
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Listening to him makes me want to do better, try harder, go deeper. But it's August in Iowa. Against that yearning is set the torpor of too many, too-hot days. I feel as if I am operating in slow motion. So how to break through, slug out of the sluggishness. <br />
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Take pen in hand, turn off the computer, open the notebook, dig.<br />
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Thank you Seamus Heaney.<br />
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<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-64717811495714309702013-08-27T07:10:00.000-07:002013-08-27T07:10:14.307-07:00Freezer's bustedWell, the freezer's busted and making water instead of ice. So while I clean out the mess and wait for the repairman, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/garden/pink-robots-at-the-gate.html">here's</a> an inspiring story about a guy who just can't stop making art. And he uses a lot of what other people throw away. Hmmm...sounds like writing.Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-84052697566296096232013-08-06T12:32:00.000-07:002013-08-06T12:33:29.957-07:00Summertime GazpachoGazpacho is one of those wonderful soups that have a little bit of a lot of vegetables. After such a long silence this blog will have a little bit of a lot.<br />
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So, first into the stew:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beth Krommes</td></tr>
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at ALA--along with the treasure of time with long time friends--I was happily surprised to run into <a href="http://www.bethkrommes.com/">Beth Krommes</a>, Caldecott winner in 2009 for <i>The House in the Night (</i>written by Susan Marie Swanson). Before she was an official "winner" she winningly illustrated <i>The Lamp, the Ice, and the Boat Called Fish</i>. It was a treat to see her because I had just re-read our book, after a few years away from it. I was glad to to able to tell her in person how much I still love the illustrations. She captures so well the warmth of family in a physically cold place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Paul summer garden</td></tr>
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Then a couple of cups of Hamline University's Low Residency MFA, where I was just a visitor for a couple of days--but enough time to eat raspberries in <a href="http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/aifolder/aipages/ai_r/root.php">Phyllis Root</a>'s garden; hear <a href="http://www.frannybillingsley.com/">Franny Billingsley's</a> wonderful lecture, in which she said, "Voice is tied to plot. If your character wants something, it will bleed onto the page as voice;" hear <a href="http://www.marshaqualey.com/">Marsha Qualey</a> follow that up with, "Power + Belonging= Identity." She went on to say that "power" and "belonging" features that we give our characters can also be the features that are changed or disrupted and so move our plots along. And of course there was time with students.<br />
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A good trip, in spite of the little traffic ticket that arrived in our mail a couple of days ago.<br />
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Spice it up with the fun of meeting with a bunch of kids at reading camp--audience. They were lively, interested readers who had spent four days talking about and thinking about <i>Snowflake Bentley</i>--even come up with pages of questions.<br />
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And thinking about maybe doing writing and/or drawing themselves. We talked a lot about where writers get ideas--and how they often have to write it wrong before they write it right. <br />
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I left that group inspired by the resilience of children, the generosity of adults who read with them, and the power of books to connect us all.<br />
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<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-18578479639581315682013-07-04T10:44:00.000-07:002013-07-05T07:17:31.133-07:00Unpacking from the ALA : Part One<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">waiting for the shuttle</td></tr>
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The ALA Conference in Chicago this past week and weekend reminded me of why I feel so lucky to be part of the children's literature community. Librarians from every state stood in long lines and laughed while they waited for their favorite authors to sign personal copies. These librarians are my heroes. They are the ones who make the connection between the books we write and the kids who read them. Thank you librarians! You make the party.<br />
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Another highlight of the convention was the farm tour of City Farm on Chicago's north side. Dan Hurowitz, city farmer, showed us the lush crops of greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and herbs, and explained the mission of City Farm. And thanks to Gillian Engberg @ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ALA.Booklist?directed_target_id=0">Booklist</a> who co-sponsored the tour.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZI6WS72pHkNgLd0NPpeBU64OO_2FroK7QQK_aET55eJ7252lo6s1e40wvpIDW3PE7Ul53at_U6_MwPF-5Of_p05hw96rTBuA2KR5nLt5vocZc-OIYt59DFPUuoCnbkyjPEuaK3F4Q2pi9/s1600/DSC03762.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZI6WS72pHkNgLd0NPpeBU64OO_2FroK7QQK_aET55eJ7252lo6s1e40wvpIDW3PE7Ul53at_U6_MwPF-5Of_p05hw96rTBuA2KR5nLt5vocZc-OIYt59DFPUuoCnbkyjPEuaK3F4Q2pi9/s200/DSC03762.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">urban and farm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgom98h2KtFu-SFG2-30nRSfcsC_pGa_JM5wJN1ApwxNf1QG24c8EglVQTydY1Icr8CaJ87VvP0wy8E1TX0X9KfSnNZO8_Q3j2sKpg3ZBLPcwdL4Sbr043C9ViieewI6JJ9K3n2Q-VBm53d/s1600/DSC03767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgom98h2KtFu-SFG2-30nRSfcsC_pGa_JM5wJN1ApwxNf1QG24c8EglVQTydY1Icr8CaJ87VvP0wy8E1TX0X9KfSnNZO8_Q3j2sKpg3ZBLPcwdL4Sbr043C9ViieewI6JJ9K3n2Q-VBm53d/s200/DSC03767.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marilyn Ackerman (<a href="http://www.bklynpubliclibrary.org/about">Brooklyn Public Library</a>) and Susan McConnell of Publishers Group West check out the chickens, who are locked in every night to protect them from urban coyotes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszuJxU0SrE3vqNe_UNicnENchzAbHkAZmGesYKzxFcu1mmFzfJ9qCdL28uN0EssJTNS2gVfNmomtS4pmni9inQ7L0qStmbUZ_nvUxQLwRpmmkhId6fSRpekgLUJGFVIXDts1YWqIX7kHL/s1600/DSC03765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszuJxU0SrE3vqNe_UNicnENchzAbHkAZmGesYKzxFcu1mmFzfJ9qCdL28uN0EssJTNS2gVfNmomtS4pmni9inQ7L0qStmbUZ_nvUxQLwRpmmkhId6fSRpekgLUJGFVIXDts1YWqIX7kHL/s200/DSC03765.JPG" width="200" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marilyn Ackerman, Rick Brooks <a href="http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/">(Little Free Libraries)</a> and Dan Hurowitz talk about tomatoes</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The smell of tomato plants mingled with the smell of city buses and we were glad to think of the neighbors who come to this corner farm to buy fresh food two or three times a week. The farm also sells to area restaurants.<br />
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Urban farming came into the convention center in the Readers to Eaters booth as Philip and June Lee of Readers to Eaters Books and I were excited to share advance copies of <i>Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table.</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKMQ-PXe4SucJ4-9lIChL8X4eWdDZXu4L8ARuo1pE2a6bICYwGbVUayHyMixgzYKtnK2C7u5C4klWlfhtDhjZRcs4GKDcKEqDnNDZYqTafK_Pom7u1tEO_qGmmRzdjd76pjSjh8MqIugO/s1600/ALA1IMG_1618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKMQ-PXe4SucJ4-9lIChL8X4eWdDZXu4L8ARuo1pE2a6bICYwGbVUayHyMixgzYKtnK2C7u5C4klWlfhtDhjZRcs4GKDcKEqDnNDZYqTafK_Pom7u1tEO_qGmmRzdjd76pjSjh8MqIugO/s200/ALA1IMG_1618.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from left: Philip Lee, me, June Lee</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNN474vUkJSCMlMCx2EpinA9MLrU3IYdEDrBhgUlrOOfYTK1QQHh5loHpX4SxYQ2InGoKqMuqVx_ZOEIl2fg5tufqtBU8uIbuta5J1qzltC6n_wjGpuskmAAEKmeSjnSq54f5aWyrY6Ha/s1600/ALA2IMG_1623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNN474vUkJSCMlMCx2EpinA9MLrU3IYdEDrBhgUlrOOfYTK1QQHh5loHpX4SxYQ2InGoKqMuqVx_ZOEIl2fg5tufqtBU8uIbuta5J1qzltC6n_wjGpuskmAAEKmeSjnSq54f5aWyrY6Ha/s1600/ALA2IMG_1623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNN474vUkJSCMlMCx2EpinA9MLrU3IYdEDrBhgUlrOOfYTK1QQHh5loHpX4SxYQ2InGoKqMuqVx_ZOEIl2fg5tufqtBU8uIbuta5J1qzltC6n_wjGpuskmAAEKmeSjnSq54f5aWyrY6Ha/s1600/ALA2IMG_1623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">librarians and writers (Toni Buzzeo, author of Caldecott Honor Book <i>One Cool Friend</i> at left) look at the new <i>Farmer Will Allen</i></td></tr>
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So many librarians told us of gardens at their schools, or libraries, or in their communities. I'm hoping they all send photos so we can start a page of urban farms and gardens. I want to see those tomatoes growing in buckets, beets in window boxes, potatoes in sacks. </div>
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And, while visiting with friends at the Palmer House hotel in downtown Chicago, I looked out the window to see this green rooftop. </div>
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Green is growing--and that's exciting.<br />
<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-83693596132337782462013-06-26T19:34:00.000-07:002013-06-26T19:34:17.325-07:00Inviting Doubt to the (Writing)Table<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here in Maine, with my family, at my sister Laura's place, I picked up the most recent New Yorker magazine. <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2013/06/24/130624crbo_books_gladwell">This article</a> by Malcolm Gladwell seems as if it was written for me, or other writers who have doubt bouts. Albert O. Hirschman, whose biography Gladwell is reviewing, believed it is our mistakes, not really knowing, being surprised by error, doubt that are responsible for many of our most creative responses.<br />
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This is the quote I loved: "Certainty shuts down our thinking."<br />
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Doubt is good for us. Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-69835248130776873612013-06-10T08:52:00.001-07:002013-06-10T08:54:03.764-07:00Urban Farm Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you are going to be at the ALA in Chicago later this month, I hope you'll join us for one of both of these tours. I am excited about seeing these urban farms. And, if you are not going to be at the ALA, check here. I'll report back.<br />
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<b> 6/27 Thursday 4-5:30p.m.</b> <b></b><br />
<b> City Farm Chicago </b> <br />
1487 W. Irving Park Rd. Chicago, IL <br />
www.cityfarmchicago.org <br />
Co-hosted by Gillian Engberg <br />
City Farm Board member, <br />
Truck Farm Chicago, <br />
Little Free Library<br />
Reception following tour.<br />
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<b> 6/28 Friday 1-2 p.m.</b><br />
<b><b> Growing Power's Iron Street Farm</b></b><br />
3333 S. Iron St. Chicago, IL 60608<br />
www.ironstreetfarm.com<br />
Meet Erica Allen, Growing Power's Chicago project<br />
manager and Will Allen's Daughter, Truck Farm<br />
Chicago, Little Free Library<br />
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Please RSVP to Philip Lee-- Philip@readerstoeaters.com-- if you'll be able to attend.<b> </b>Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-37958895269326486262013-06-07T07:11:00.001-07:002013-06-07T08:23:09.327-07:00The word from owls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The crows in this part of Madison (where I am with the "grands") were making a ruckus this morning, which often means one thing--great horned owls, specifically the pair that have made a home in a willow tree in Sarah's back yard. So I went out searching and watched one fly over my head and land in the tree, sit right next to its mate. Were they staring at me as I stared at them? Even from my distant perspective on the ground they are huge, Powerful, birds--from another sphere in this world. I wanted to ask, "What news? What news are you bringing? Let's have it." <br />
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In the meantime, I have this quote from Walker Evans, by way of <a href="http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=936%E2%80%8E">Phyllis Root</a>:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times;">“Stare.
It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die
knowing something. You are not here long.”</span></div>
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I had an eavesdropping experience yesterday, reading <i>The Animal Family</i> by Randall Jarrell. I was actually fulfilling an assignment from <a href="http://www.marshaqualey.com/">Marsha Qualey</a> for our work revising the Required Reading List at Hamline. We wanted to be sure this book from the 60s still deserved a place on the list.<br />
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My vote is yes! First, the epigraph, "Say what you like, but such things do happen--not often, but they do happen." What a wonderful invitation to magic!<br />
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Jarrell takes his time putting this family of hunter, mermaid, bear, lynx, and boy together. And that might be a problem for readers looking for action. But there's an atmosphere to the book that builds, through tone, through taking one's time, through detail--the mermaid's burbling language, the lynx's careful washing of the Hunter and the Mermaid, who says of the freshly-polished hunter, "If I hadn't lived with you so long, I don't know whether I'd recognize you. He's got you so you just gleam." The family is a world unto itself. Jarrell has built this world. They are all each other needs. There's no getting and spending, no longing for more. It's a kind of Eden. When I was done, that world colored mine, shaded it with wanting to slow down, look more closely, stare. <br />
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Stare. Let's, and report back. The crows are at it again. Must go.<br />
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<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-50950207389358619562013-05-17T12:40:00.001-07:002013-05-17T12:40:22.821-07:00Children's Book People Know How to Have Fun, Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coe's Bar</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arthur Geisert and assistant</td></tr>
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Fun for writers (part 1) is meeting the readers of our books. Fun for writers (part 2) is going to book parties--our own and those of other writers. Last Saturday was that wonderful kind of book-party fun. </div>
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The book party for Arthur Geisart's new <i>Thunderstorm </i>(Enchanted Lion Books) was held at Coe's Bar in Bernard, Iowa. Arthur also opened his studio/residence for us to tour. (He lives in a remodeled bank, sleeps in the vault.)</div>
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Coe's Bar was busy selling copies of Arthur's book, and selling beer, burgers and fries to book lovers from all over Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. The place was standing room only. Arthur was busy signing from noon until 4:00 p.m. Many writers and illustrators were in attendance as well as various stripes of book readers, book lovers and book sellers. Ahead of me in the signing line was MaryAnn Peters, owner of the wonderful <a href="http://www.newbobooks.com/">NewBo Books</a> in Cedar Rapids.</div>
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It was energizing to see such widespread and genuine excitement about a children's book. Arthur Geisert's publisher Claudia Zoe Bedrick of <a href="http://www.enchantedlionbooks.com/">Enchanted Lion Books</a> came to celebrate this new release. A producer from NPR was on the scene interviewing attendees. (I think the program will be aired on an up-coming "Week-end Edition.") </div>
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I was able to pick up a copy of the 2013 Enchanted Lion Books catalog and am eager to get my hands on some of these quirky, heartfelt, and remarkable books. Claudia Zoe Bedrick writes at the front of the catalog: "We seek out books that spark curiosity, wonder and astonishment; books that ask and explore, while affirming the creative force of the imagination and of life. We are always creating the future. Life is always in the making. To open up this idea for children is to give them an infinite sense of hope and possibility. It is to nourish their capacity to act and to dream." Indeed!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cinnamon roll nearly as big as a tractor tire</td></tr>
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And speaking of nourishment...I also was able to share a farm-house sized cinnamon roll with <a href="http://www.jenireeves.com/">Jeni Reeves</a> and <a href="http://www.scbwi-illinois.org/Bgeisert.html">Bonnie Geisert</a> while we chatted about writing, our particular projects, and our lives. I've known and enjoyed Jeni for a number of years, just met Bonnie that Saturday; but it seemed as if we had been eating cinnamon rolls together in Bernard for decades. </div>
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I love the communities of children's book people and how they intertwine--Brooklyn, New York--Bernard, Iowa; Galena, Illinois--Mount Vernon, Iowa; a story of a thunderstorm in the country conceived and made by an artist from a city; tractors and publishers catalogs; cinnamon rolls and books that "nourish our capacity to act and dream."</div>
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Thanks Arthur Geisert and Claudia Zoe Bedrick for a great book and a great party! </div>
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Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-78243496837427652792013-05-12T13:21:00.000-07:002013-05-13T18:32:15.279-07:00Children's Book People Know How to Have Fun: Part One<br />
One of the most fun things a children's book writer can do is meet the audience--the kids who read the books. I've had two very special "meet the audience" days recently.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sculpture outside the Meskwaki Settlement School</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to the Meskwaki Settlement School</td></tr>
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In early April I went to the Meskwakie Settlement School, and visited with children of the Meskuaki Tribe in Tama, Iowa. The Settlement School educates children from preschool age through high school.<br />
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I visited with students in grades 3-6. We talked about how writers can construct characters, how we write about the places that are special to us, and how important it is to keep a journal, to write down our ideas, to write down the things we want to remember.<br />
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There is history, so much history, in and around this school. The Iowa members of Meskwaki Tribe were removed to Kansas in the 1843. In 1856 the Iowa legislature passed a law "allowing" Meskwakis to stay in Iowa (this language is embarrassing in our time, but it's what the law said). In 1857 the Meskwaki Tribe purchased 80 acres of land in Tama County and re-settled in Iowa. On this settlement is built the school which I visited.<br />
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I was privileged to be there and spend time with the students--and hope to go back sometime.<br />
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Later in April I went to Madison to visit another special school--Crestwood Elementary School where my granddaughter Evelyn is a second grader. I was one hour in Evelyn's classroom--we invented two characters--Lizzie and Buzzie, what they loved, what they worried about, what they carried in their pockets, what they hoped for--then in the afternoon visited with all the students in the school. We talked about where writers get ideas for stories: from their families, friends; from what they wish they could do; from their heroes; from the places they loved. <br />
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I have done many school visits but not enough that I don't get nervous, hoping that the students and I will make a connection that will have meaning for them, but worrying that all the other things that are going on--school lunch, recess complications, loose teeth--will get in the way. I can't be sure what we've done until I've been there and done the day.<br />
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When it's over, though, I am always glad I had the chance for time with students. I am always reminded of what important work we do together when we talk about writing and stories.<br />
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And I always come home thinking, "That was good fun!'Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-66583762444741870372013-04-21T13:11:00.000-07:002013-04-21T13:11:10.222-07:00Life on the back porch. Life in the street.Regular life feels somehow frivolous, undeserved, when friends in Boston have been recently locked inside their homes, waiting for the next round of firing, when we have all witnessed via television, bombs, explosions, shootouts, lives thrown into grief and chaos.<br />
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A blog about writing for kids almost feels like playing on the back porch when there's a fire on the street. But our lives are webs, I think, and in that web--along with the fear and sadness and mystery of a desire to maim--are the uplifting qualities of courage, caring, in real life and the buoying, courageous characters found in good books.<br />
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So along the journey to good books, to community ...<br />
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In January, <a href="http://www.laurenstringer.com/">Lauren Stringer</a>-- very talented author-illustrator of a new book called <a href="http://www.laurenstringer.com/Books%28WSMN%29.html"><i>When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky</i></a>-- tagged me for the blog-around-the-world tour called "The Next Big Thing." I quickly said, "oh of course I can do that"--send you a photo of my new book, and brief description and then a short time later, tag others and answer some questions about the book. <br />
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Then life intervened with its own here-and-there demands.But today I am "doing that," doing what I said I would do, writing about my new book, coming out in September--<i>Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table </i>(Readers to Eaters Books). It seems appropriate, even in this tumultuous time, to tell you about Will Allen, because he is a man committed to the goal of giving hungry people everywhere access to good food, to making our world community stronger, in the face of all who would tear it down. <br />
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<img alt="Farmer Will Allen and The Growing Table-2 xs" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="260" src="http://www.readerstoeaters.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Farmer-Will-Allen-and-The-Growing-Table-2-xs-195x260.png" title="Farmer Will Allen and The Growing Table-2 xs" width="195" /> <br />
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Questions:<br />
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1. What is the title of your new book? <i>Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table</i>.<br />
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2. Where did the idea come from? I was interested in urban farming and when I read of Will Allen and his Milwaukee farm, I knew writing about an urban farmer was the best way to tell the story of an urban farm.<br />
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3. What genre does your book fall under? Picture book biography.<br />
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4. What actor would you choose to play the part of your character? Danny Glover would be perfect. Will Allen reminds me of Danny Glover. <br />
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5. What is a few-sentence synopsis? When Will Allen was a boy he hated farm work and wanted a "white shirt" job. When he grew up he realized he loved growing things, built a city farm and taught neighbors to help grow good food. But that table wasn't big enough; he wanted to invite more to the table and has worked to build a world-sized table.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pots and buckets at Will Allen's Growing Power</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">growing on the ground at Growing Power</td></tr>
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6. Who is publishing your book? The very committed Philip Lee of <a href="http://www.readerstoeaters.com/our-books/">Readers to Eaters Books.</a><br />
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7. How long did it take to write the first draft? The first draft of this book took about five months, but there were several "pre-first" drafts in previous months while I homed in on my real subject.<br />
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8. What other books would you compare this story to in your genre? Possibly<i> The Boy Who Drew Birds: a biography of John James Audubon</i> by Jacqueline Davies (illustrated by the wonderful Melissa Sweet) because they are both biographies of people with one passion; in the gardening sense <i>White House Kitchen Garden and How It Grew</i> by Robbin Gourley, another story of growing good food.<br />
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9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? The actual life and deeds of Will Allen. Many people around the world go to bed each night with good food in their stomachs because of his work.<br />
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10. What else about the book might pique a reader's interest? There's a lot of good stuff about red wiggler worms.<br />
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And now I am pleased to tag my friend and fellow-writer <a href="http://www.janekurtz.com/">Jane Kurtz</a> and her lively Anna, of <i>Anna Was Here</i>:<br />
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<pre><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Anna knows she will be fine in her temporary move to Kansas. After all, she gets
gold ribbons for always being prepared. And it's her first chance to meet cousins
and aunts and great aunts where her grandma grew up. The Great Plains has always
held huge challenges for people, though, and she finds herself in the middle of
disasters too big for any nine-year-old girl asking "Who's in charge here, anyway??"
Anna discovers a lot about what we cling to when everything is out of control.</i></span></span> </pre>
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<pre><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">More from Jane soon.</span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">More here, soon, about writing, gardening, finding stories, telling stories. </span></pre>
Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-85810281756619402342013-03-25T07:58:00.000-07:002013-03-25T08:10:11.529-07:00Heard and seen in Illinois<br />
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Last weekend I was in Springfield Illinois for the Illinois Reading Association Conference and was fortunate to be in the audience when<a href="http://www.ericrohmann.com/"> Eric Rohmann</a> gave his acceptance speech for the Prairie State Award for Excellence in Writing for Children. He spoke with warmth and grace:<br />
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<i>"The imagination doesn't require much: a sudden light under a dark doorway, a line of smoke on the horizon, a nudge down a snowy hill...[as a child] I [once] sat on the grassy slope of my front lawn looking out at the house across the street. Suddenly, a black cat ran behind the house and a moment later, from the other side, a crow flew squawking into the sky. I knew better, but to my young mind the running cat, through some enchantment, had become the flying crow.</i><br />
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<i>Children only need a place to start."</i><br />
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What a lovely picture--a cat becoming a crow! For great photos of the Prairie State Award Banquet check out <a href="http://mcbookwords.blogspot.com/">Sharron McElmeel's blog.</a><br />
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I had gone to Springfield with <a href="http://www.mcelmeel.com/">Sharron McElmeel</a>, <a href="http://michelledwards.com/">Michelle Edwards</a>, and <a href="http://www.kidswriter.com/">Dori Butler</a>. We gave two panel presentations--one on how we each do our research. Dori actually took a citizens' police course to learn about police procedures for her mystery novels. Michelle has interviewed school kids to help herself understand what it really feels like to be the new kid at school, and she once asked her own kids to scout out some authentic names. I talked about the importance of going to the places where our stories happen, and Sharron pointed out to us all that there are many kids of research. We met some very dedicated Illinois teachers, whom I am glad to know. And we had a wonderful time chatting with <a href="http://www.candacefleming.com/">Candy Fleming</a>, who was also at the conference. <br />
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We also decided to be tourists in Springfield for a while. There is nothing like "place" to bring a person to life. Standing in the old Illinois capitol and thinking that this is where Lincoln argued cases on a regular basis was awe-inspiring. Or walking up the steep staircase at the Lincoln home and knowing that he too walked up this staircase. The whole experience seemed to fit right in with thinking about the importance of going to the place where our stories take place. Just being there made me want to write one more story about Abraham Lincoln.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMRbH_iTDmntgka2BA_73H5kOBR9LgotX704qj2WsooCbV62Gvwer24c9E_jta2V1L2u6R1oJyXEef883bSxXFP87sc6X9-oVSwF5UdT0xIM73aRSVOHCX2g-9TiI2w4IpexO3ETG95tn/s1600/DSC03549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMRbH_iTDmntgka2BA_73H5kOBR9LgotX704qj2WsooCbV62Gvwer24c9E_jta2V1L2u6R1oJyXEef883bSxXFP87sc6X9-oVSwF5UdT0xIM73aRSVOHCX2g-9TiI2w4IpexO3ETG95tn/s320/DSC03549.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"old" Illinois Supreme Court Chamber where Lincoln argued cases</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-36679064037799854212013-02-19T09:42:00.000-08:002013-02-20T06:38:41.714-08:00Wry revision, er... Revision and Rye...Rye and Revision<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZEHCNQ6GDVhb_dTFNWl2FHs8-KTO4aPD-JLXhnXgWUltO-BuRQxEx9z7kwSxZ7bHv_bMcS1agVA6Hp2yFk-bV_Y5GJswxKtQx7jZSwKnlnyhVcsZqe8bhXn-ITWnMv2jXso6XGQymI2c/s1600/DSC03503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZEHCNQ6GDVhb_dTFNWl2FHs8-KTO4aPD-JLXhnXgWUltO-BuRQxEx9z7kwSxZ7bHv_bMcS1agVA6Hp2yFk-bV_Y5GJswxKtQx7jZSwKnlnyhVcsZqe8bhXn-ITWnMv2jXso6XGQymI2c/s320/DSC03503.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura's place on a snowy day</td></tr>
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Last week I was in Maine, visiting with my sisters Laura and Audrey and my mother. We had a great time cooking, sewing, laughing, remembering, listening to <i>Team of Rivals</i>.<br />
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Part of the cooking was me making rye bread <a href="http://foodandwine.com/recipes/laymans-rye-bread">flavored with pickle juice</a>. I'd tried it once before and found it perfectly rye and sour. And this time I decided why waste a jar of pickles when I could just as easily use vinegar seasoned with pickling spices. Hmmm....<br />
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Not every idea is a good one. Not every revision works.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtI3Lm0WY-dPwgGDSawLFV6-RMyaU7WPiyF71Rw3ELMOTpcNSE_-llM_ysbkAl3ZZjNbN8jbG4jLhS5ZzWz2mvBQD40UJkrOvvcyQw5oQauY2rTI8b2mRwqrpt8MqYdpmEk-FNJKTU4Hnh/s1600/DSC03506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtI3Lm0WY-dPwgGDSawLFV6-RMyaU7WPiyF71Rw3ELMOTpcNSE_-llM_ysbkAl3ZZjNbN8jbG4jLhS5ZzWz2mvBQD40UJkrOvvcyQw5oQauY2rTI8b2mRwqrpt8MqYdpmEk-FNJKTU4Hnh/s320/DSC03506.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"stunning" rye</td></tr>
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The vinegar totally killed the yeast. The defeated loaf shrank in on itself after I took it out of the oven. The bread had no crumb. It was sour. It was solid, quite like cement, something you might keep on hand to stun a burglar.<br />
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So I had to revise my revision of the recipe and try again.<br />
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Revised version was worthy of reuben sandwiches, which were indeed stunning.<br />
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This whole wry episode reminded me of a revising experience I had recently. I've written a picture book biography of <a href="http://www.growingpower.org/">Will Allen</a> which will be coming out this fall, published by <a href="http://www.readerstoeaters.com/">Readers to Eaters</a>, and illustrated by <a href="http://ericlarkin.prosite.com/94048/beautyfro">Eric Larkin</a>. I have thought for some months that I had done all I could do with this manuscript, that it was indeed done.<br />
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I'm excited about telling Will Allen's urban farming story and excited to see what Eric Larkin will do with the text. So when I was visiting the College Community Schools in Cedar Rapids a couple of weeks ago I decided to read this story to one group of students. I quickly realized that the manuscript was too long--not because the kids were jumping out the windows, but because it sounded clunky to my ear. It had no lightness, no smoothness. The sentences seemed stuttery to me, containing three verbs when one would do. I knew I'd have to revise.<br />
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But the funny thing is that I had read this story just recently to an audience of adults and hadn't caught the clunkiness. Why did I catch it with the kids? I'm not sure.<br />
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I cut about 300 words. The initial part of the work was done in the
United Airlines lounge at O'Hare--a new place to me, with gray carpets,
gray sky, nothing to focus on but my work. It was a lot easier to see the story I wanted and to pare away what I didn't want in this neutral, non-stimulating space. I was astonished at how I could sit in my chair and think about only what I wanted this manuscript to be.<br />
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There are several things I've learned from this experience.<br />
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1. we are never really done<br />
2. read your story out loud to its real audience before you call it done<br />
3. to see a story anew, sometimes it helps to work in a new place <br />
4. there's something to be learned from not-quite-done stories, something to be done with bad bread<br />
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<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-38026170017832071742013-02-01T13:15:00.000-08:002013-02-01T13:15:25.716-08:00Happy Birthday Langston Hughes<br />
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<a href="http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/">Writers Almanac</a> tells us today is the birthday of Langston Hughes. Also that he lived for much of his childhood with his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas. And this is one of the things that's important about that:<br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;">"Langston
was fascinated by the streetcars in Lawrence, and he wanted to be a
streetcar conductor when he grew up. But he also loved books. The
Lawrence Public Library was one of the only integrated public buildings
in the city, and he spent as much time there as possible. He said,'Then
it was that books began to happen to me, and I began to believe in
nothing but books and the wonderful world in books where if people
suffered, they suffered in beautiful language, not in monosyllables, as
we did in Kansas.'"</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: black;">Well, Langston Hughes grew up to be a wonderful poet who knew something himself about "beautiful language." Some of his poems, and their titles have become part of our working vocabulary. We often hear talk of "a dream deferred," from the poem <a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/harlem-dream-deferred/">"Harlem [Dream Deferred]."</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: black;">Who could ever forget, once having heard, "Well, son, I'll tell you:/Life for me ain't been no crystal stair."from the poem <a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/mother-to-son/">Mother to Son.</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: black;">Just this week one of the Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, given by the ALA, was awarded to <i>No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller,</i> by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (published by Carolrhoda Lab). This sounds like a wonderful book. I'm eager to read it. But even before I read it, I appreciate the circling back to Langston Hughes in the title. Langston Hughes--the connection between a library in Kansas and a bookstore in Harlem.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: black;">Libraries and bookstores. Where would we be without them? Whenever it is "a damp, drizzly November in my soul," I do not take to a ship, but to a library or a bookstore, and find myself roused just by being surrounded by all those stories, all that information. And then I bring some of it home--even better.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: black;">Somewhere, in some library or bookstore, someone is having a birthday. Happy Birthday to you, too, and thanks! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="color: black;"> </span> </span>Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-73802332421330409742013-01-18T09:18:00.002-08:002013-01-18T09:18:44.020-08:00When an idea knocks... It's January again and time for the winter residency of the Hamline MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. I always look forward to this winter "writers' camp," where we talk about writing from breakfast until dinner--and after, with lectures, workshops, readings, and old fashioned conversation.<br />
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This winter I had the good fortune to be in a conversation with Jane Resh Thomas, <a href="http://www.marshaqualey.com/">Marsha Qualey,</a> and <a href="http://www.lizaketchum.com/">Liza Ketchum</a> about the reading and writing we'd been doing, what had inspired, or excited us, in the writing of others, what we were working on at our own desks. During that morning as we drank our coffee, and Jane's dog, Gilly, listened in (possibly hoping to glean ideas for a book he's working on. How could Jane Resh Thomas's dog not be a writer?) Jane said two things that I want to share:<br />
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*When an idea knocks you'd better answer the door.<br />
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*What is writing if not being naked on the page?<br />
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And that reminded me of Jane's wonderful posts on <a href="http://thestorytellersinkpot.blogspot.com/2012/10/we-call-it-voice-but-it.html">The Story Teller's Inkpot</a>. Check this one out. It's like being in the same room and listening to Jane talk about point of view and psychic distance--except that you have to imagine Gilly. <br />
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<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-32759529675914125712012-12-31T05:23:00.001-08:002012-12-31T05:23:51.689-08:00A gift from The New York TimesThis is a wonderful last day of the year gift from Christof Niemmann, Terry Gross, Maurice Sendak,<br />
and the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/12/28/magazine/100000001970456/an-illustrated-talk-with-maurice-sendak.html">New York Times</a>.<br />
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What a way to celebrate one more day and the turning of the year!<br />
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"Live your life. Live your life. Live your life!"Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-89416465956700772502012-12-27T10:22:00.001-08:002012-12-27T10:27:48.001-08:00Re-entering<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Holidays</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As I ease back into this space and resume this conversation, which has been cut off by a busy schedule, I want to share a resource for picture book writers--the <a href="http://www.hbook.com/2012/11/blogs/out-of-the-box/picture-book-month-coverage-round-up/">Horn Book's</a> compilation of articles and musings on picture books. It's been around since November, but perhaps you missed it then, as I did.<br />
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These are good days, before the New Year, to read, to store up, to think about what's next. And these articles are a good place to begin.<br />
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And it's not too early to start thinking about those New Year's Day black-eyed peas. This fritter recipe from <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Eyed-Pea-Fritters-with-Hot-Pepper-Sauce-352350">Epicurious.com </a>will be on our plates, but we'll be doing the flat, pancake-like version that doesn't require five cups (!!) of coconut oil.<br />
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It's good to be back, good to be wishing all good health, strong hearts, and strength to your sword arms (thanks Brenda Ueland) for the rest of 2012 and 2013. <br />
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<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-64251181961514766872012-11-15T10:33:00.000-08:002012-11-15T10:33:09.017-08:00WhittlingIt's all about process, whether it's story building or <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/garden/in-new-mexico-a-home-made-with-love-and-a-small-utility-knife.html?ref=style&_r=0">housebuilding</a>. That's why I love this story about a man who loves wood and has spent thirty years whittling his own house. He's not done, but he loves the process.Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-60950597814979887442012-10-09T11:26:00.000-07:002012-10-09T17:40:09.370-07:00Exploring the spaces of our lives<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qJ38Y9L5kurgrekt9jyP5NZ60XlBSo0_3agwXc6f9u6Pw9NW-HaTrAIDpiPQFpXhYI_bwGLsQcmpB4pnxeonM4jowlD-qldunsItnewR79SUUDBOlnSmEtEA_VHVUUw6mQbE5SGKB_75/s1600/DSC03338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qJ38Y9L5kurgrekt9jyP5NZ60XlBSo0_3agwXc6f9u6Pw9NW-HaTrAIDpiPQFpXhYI_bwGLsQcmpB4pnxeonM4jowlD-qldunsItnewR79SUUDBOlnSmEtEA_VHVUUw6mQbE5SGKB_75/s320/DSC03338.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiXYAD9WX3g8CX9e0OxDbnG7mnAhyphenhyphenyueIkxMJC_zMHOeMoL7TPbLsLLiFlZPQfS-HLMC3PWSdiA1yacwnrEz1zQt6hYfDXEKpyEULGZf6bicSIRqYoDUNpNVlmfHsL2Xk2_i4uEkkbhD6/s1600/DSC03337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiXYAD9WX3g8CX9e0OxDbnG7mnAhyphenhyphenyueIkxMJC_zMHOeMoL7TPbLsLLiFlZPQfS-HLMC3PWSdiA1yacwnrEz1zQt6hYfDXEKpyEULGZf6bicSIRqYoDUNpNVlmfHsL2Xk2_i4uEkkbhD6/s320/DSC03337.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It’s one of those days, one of those lovely fall days, today.
When Rich and I were out at the Pal this morning I was reminded of E.B. White’s
response to someone who asked what the message was in<i> Charlotte’s Web</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said, “All I wanted to say, all I ever want to say is that I love the
world.” It’s one of those days. </div>
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<br /></div>
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And that reminds me of something I read in
yesterday’s edition of Writers' Almanac. Yesterday was Harvey Pekar’s birthday.
<a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/cleveland_comic-book_legend_ha.html">Harvey Pekar</a> wrote a comic strip about his life. This is how Writers' Almanac
described his work:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 0.5in;">
“Pekar wrote about nearly every
important aspect of his life: his job, his friends, meeting his wife, marrying
her, their struggles as a couple, buying their first house, and going through
his cancer treatment. His work inspired a whole generation of artists to write
autobiographical and realist comic books. An anthology of his work was
published last year as <i>American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar.</i>
When asked why he wanted to turn his life into a comic book, Harvey Pekar said,
‘I wanted to write literature that pushed people into their lives rather than
helping people escape from them.’"</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
“I wanted to write literature that pushed people into their
lives rather than helping people escape from them.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that and can’t help but wonder how it
relates to writing for kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Escape is
good sometimes. Sometimes we do just need to swing on the birches of a good
story. And we should have stories that take kids out of their lives. But
perhaps sometimes also we—and our readers— need to just explore the spaces of
our own lives, find out what is there, tend what is to be tended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do we write those books?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are there books that push kids into their
lives?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjH2wbGzkM6IjIZpP1TnmSs9Pjg7vBNhlh8i-8nGDBSsvCGAmY-YWaE0bKfBBMpqTZtK9f2qTZ0H0A4XeZsOEm551Amy2mZSrCWcqrut50_vHOdAA_5o8nf5_fl9nGOjeQzPUerSisnTo8/s1600/DSC03355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjH2wbGzkM6IjIZpP1TnmSs9Pjg7vBNhlh8i-8nGDBSsvCGAmY-YWaE0bKfBBMpqTZtK9f2qTZ0H0A4XeZsOEm551Amy2mZSrCWcqrut50_vHOdAA_5o8nf5_fl9nGOjeQzPUerSisnTo8/s200/DSC03355.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jan Blazanin and <a href="http://www.mcelmeel.com/">Sharron McElmeel </a>chat during a break</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAP16p2bErdUk-Lqw260AMCuayhcAZfi0be7K2YxR4UwNf6Cof0_QGC8Lk1yVNPzajXb5sbFImtRXQjVJigMLj9zmQsKuBOyQZSen3UTAuamt-e06BW9QyWls8h_y-OSfEpmwuv2t5_vrH/s1600/DSC03357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAP16p2bErdUk-Lqw260AMCuayhcAZfi0be7K2YxR4UwNf6Cof0_QGC8Lk1yVNPzajXb5sbFImtRXQjVJigMLj9zmQsKuBOyQZSen3UTAuamt-e06BW9QyWls8h_y-OSfEpmwuv2t5_vrH/s320/DSC03357.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jan and part of the rapt audience</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzly5f-9auih2mEkbtdctCzomZgMXZ6urSj7S9eFw6mq4oGXQ8RMwfPeWMNNSQKmuvnRU7rE0QYYq2FntLruk_wuboxbrecSt_dQ9ZgXv93CzGGRq8cS-wBETWRhmVo_zVO_c2_jXpfk1/s1600/DSC03358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Writing better books for kids was the topic last Saturday in
Iowa City as <a href="http://www.janblazanin.com/">Jan Blazanin</a> gave a generous, detailed, and thought-provoking
presentation on plotting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example,
here’s what Jan recommends for the first five pages of a novel:</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span>Presents a clear point of view</li>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span>Identifies the protagonist, including traits
that set him/her apart<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Grounds the reader in time and space</li>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Set’s the story’s tone</li>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Introduces the catalyst </li>
</ul>
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As a person who’s never written a novel, I want to learn to
use these rules. And maybe even eventually learn to break them.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Aside from all the information about plotting, it was
wonderful to be in a room with other people, all of whom want to become better
writers for children, to discover that we do have a community of writers here
in eastern Iowa, a community that we can tend so that we all become better
writers. Thanks to Wendy Henrichs for organizing this wonderful morning.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And speaking of community, tomorrow I go to Maine to spend
some days with my family, plant daffodil bulbs with Laura and Audrey, see my
mother, my brother David, and heart-sister Liz. And on Saturday join a writer
community that has been gathering every fall for sixteen years to write, share
writing, concerns about writing, publishing, and explore the spaces of our
lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m half-packed and totally
excited.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4581349306531288223.post-75664627193987116832012-10-05T11:08:00.002-07:002012-10-05T11:08:53.566-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6QBpmt_aP2oyVVk2avCHEbGO1qDnTnGPDdsFlhZLg8GFdsJHLJs1LoYURA2HbDXRjrvdYe7yWbxrxqixR5CNlOILYRZyYmrFik98GYcelvTrD5PXcie77CVBpdqpyzEjU2MdSka79rEo/s1600/DSC03333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6QBpmt_aP2oyVVk2avCHEbGO1qDnTnGPDdsFlhZLg8GFdsJHLJs1LoYURA2HbDXRjrvdYe7yWbxrxqixR5CNlOILYRZyYmrFik98GYcelvTrD5PXcie77CVBpdqpyzEjU2MdSka79rEo/s400/DSC03333.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Today-- a heron from my favorite park. Patience is a heron.<br />
<br />
And these words from <i>Steering the Craft</i> by Ursula LeGuin:<br />
<br />
<i>"[Writing] is an art, a craft, a making. To make something well is to give yourself to it, to seek wholeness, to follow spirit. To learn to make something well can take your whole life. It's worth it."</i><br />
<br />
So let's be herons. <br />
<br />Jacquelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10647998421647374725noreply@blogger.com0